


The Roman and The Wolf

by A_Cautionary_Tale



Series: Need More Zsasz? [2]
Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Court of Owls, Fish Mooney (mentioned) - Freeform, oswald cobblepot (mentioned) - Freeform, zsaszettes (mentioned)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-01
Updated: 2019-03-01
Packaged: 2019-11-07 18:56:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17966156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Cautionary_Tale/pseuds/A_Cautionary_Tale
Summary: He lies because he has to. He lies because he wants nothing more than for Victor to shoot him in the head and end it.  Kill Fish, kill them all, but that would be too kind. Fish needs to be punished, the butcher needs work and Victor needs someone to hold his leash.Can be read first or independently.





	The Roman and The Wolf

**Author's Note:**

> This is part two in a series, but it can be read first or independently.
> 
> WARNINGS:
> 
> Mentions of death and acts of violence, but no graphic depictions.
> 
> If you read this and think I should add any other warnings please let me know in the comments and I will add. Anon commenting is on if you want it :)

They called him the Roman when he was young. He'd found it fitting. Beaten, stabbed, riddled with bullets he'd expanded his empire, conquest after bloody conquest until all of Gotham was his. 

Only it was never, truly, his.

* * *

Carmine listens to the rain beat against the window panes and wills it to drown out the cacophony of the squabbling families still echoing through his mind. The meeting ended hours ago, but their words would haunt him through the night. And that wasn't the worst, there is a wolf among his flock—the phone rings. He lets it ring once more before answering. 

“Hello.” 

“Are you ready to prove your loyalty to the Court?” 

He knows that voice... 

“Yes.” It was made clear to him that this is the only answer he can give. 

“Tonight, one of your men alerted you to the fact there is a serial killer targeting the families. You offered a bounty for his head. We want him alive.” 

The phone clicks off. Carmine begins to dial the head of the first family; it’s a bitter pill to swallow. He will sound foolish, but all things considered, the Court could have made a much more difficult request.

* * *

It takes four months and eleven days; and that's only after he's raised the bounty and contacted a team of hitmen. 

They drag him in. A young hairless thing. 

Carmine recognizes him immediately and when the killer locks eyes with him, he knows the young man remembers him as well.

* * *

It’s Peter Gordon who comes to collect him, with one of their masked assassins in tow. 

Peter and Carmine exchange a look. No, more than that, a sorrow at how far they’ve allowed themselves to fall under the sway of these devils in masks. 

He doesn't ask what they'll do with the young man, he's lived long enough to know not to. 

After they leave, he focuses on putting all thoughts of his former friend Hector Zsasz aside. The man is dead and soon, he imagines, his son will be too.

* * *

It's less than a month later Carmine discovers he's wrong. 

When they bring the young man back, all he asks is “Why?” 

“Consider it a gift.” Frank Gordon tells him. “We have no further use for him.”

* * *

At first Carmine keeps him out of an unspoken obligation to a fallen friend. 

The young man is silent. He stays in his room. He eats his meals. He only speaks when spoken to. 

Carmine is left to wonder how much is related to his time spent with the Court and how much went wrong prior to their involvement. 

Any time the young man is not under surveillance of armed guards Carmine has him locked up. 

Or at least Carmine thought he was, until the night he awakes to a thug standing at the end of his bed pointing a gun at his chest. There's a gun stashed between the mattress and the headboard, but he knows it'll all be over before he can retrieve it. 

The gunshot tears through the night, its muzzle flash illuminating the room like lightning, then Carmine is left in darkness once more. 

The shooter enters the room just as Carmine turns on the light. 

Victor freezes in place, holding his gun up in surrender. 

Carmine doesn't lock the young man up after that, instead he lets him keep the gun.

* * *

The second time he uses it, they're at a family meeting. There's an uproar. It seems to be without cause or provocation the wolf has slipped its bindings, but when Carmine asks, Victor answers, and sure enough the drink Victor's victim passed to Carmine proves poisoned. 

He starts using Zsasz after that, and yes, he knows it's using a dead friend’s son as a rudimentary tool to meet his own ends, but Victor seems to come back into himself the more he is sent out. 

The young man becomes a constant fixture at his side. Carmine finds his new associate has a certain effect on people, even the most outspoken and passionate members of his family tend to become reserved and far more receptive when they spot Victor Zsasz waiting by the door.

* * *

Though he never speaks out of turn Carmine finds the young man still has a voice. 

Carmine had received several complaints about the brothel before he decides to go review it himself. The moment they arrive he knows, he's waited too long to take action, by rights the place should be razed and rebuilt entirely. 

Victor finds one girl, long dead, in one of the back rooms. Left for the rats it seems. Still Victor remains silent even though Carmine can see whatever chains the Court set to hold the wolf in place are straining. For a moment he considers what will happen in the day they break. 

He lets the pimp walk away unscathed, telling him to work on keeping a tidier house. 

Victor follows him back to the car tense as a man being led to his execution. 

Carmine waits until the young man is seated across from him before addressing him. 

“Speak.” 

Victor looks up at him with wide questioning eyes, his right ear tilting up slightly in a way Carmine has come to associate with his full attention. 

“I know you have something to say, Victor. So, say it.” 

The young man squares his shoulders before speaking. 

“Don Falcone, that man has no respect for you or the people who work for him. Those people risk they're health and safety daily with the sort of work they do. They deserve to at least be treated like human beings. Let me make an example of him, show the others this sort of disrespect won't stand.” 

Carmine is impressed by how calmly the man pleads his case despite the raw energy he can see crackling just beneath the surface. 

“With their pimp dead who will run the brothel?” Carmine asks wondering if the killer is capable of thinking past his own desires. 

Victor's brow knits for a moment and Carmine thinks he's stumped the assassin, but then he surprises Carmine yet again. 

“Give it to Ms. Mooney, she's been asking you to let her take on more responsibilities, and cleaning out that mess would be a good test of her resolve.” Victor nods. “She's respectful.” 

Carmine doesn't like how well thought through Victor's plan is. He would far prefer the wolf be only good at one thing and unable to think for himself. 

“Thank you for your input Victor, but for the time being I'll wait to see if he's capable of learning respect on his own.” 

It is a test to see if this will be the what drives the wolf to snap at his hand, but the assassin merely sags back into his seat; seemingly resigned to his fate for the time being.

* * *

The next time he sends Victor out, the man he pays to make sure bodies disappear, charges him extra for having to collect all the pieces. 

So begins the game of Carmine giving Zsasz orders, and Victor finding ways of following them to the letter while still damaging his victims. 

Carmine enjoys it actually. Victor is clever and creative in his pursuits, and as his assassin's reputation grows, so does Carmine’s own. 

He finds he hardly worries about Victor at all anymore, until a time comes when he has to leave Gotham.

* * *

Mario will be graduating from the Metropolis School of Medicine in one week and neither hell nor high velocity bullets will keep him from seeing his boy walk. 

A few meetings have to be postponed. An arms deal might go south, but by far the question most of the capos pose, when he tells them he's leaving town for a few days, is ‘What about Zsasz?’ 

When he's first met by the question, he finds it laughable. 

“What about Zsasz?” he asks turning the question back on the asker. 

Carmine's humor soon fades. They all remember why Zsasz was originally brought in. More than one demands he be locked up, like he's some feral dog that can't be left unattended. 

Finally, Carmine is forced to confront the young man himself. 

When called the young man enters the room ear already up, ready for instruction. 

“My son, Mario, will be graduating next week. I'll be out of town a few days for the ceremony.” Carmine says, scrutinizing his hitman’s posture for a hint to his mood. 

Victor merely raises his brow awaiting further instruction. 

“I trust you won't get into any trouble while I'm gone,” Carmine presses. 

Victor's brow knits as though perplexed by the statement. 

“Some of the family think I should lock you up.” 

“Who's gonna handle the arms shipment then?” 

Carmine smiles, yes, he would have brought Victor to that. 

“I don't want you getting involved without me.” 

Here Victor falters, a brief look of annoyance crossing his face, not dissimilar to when he told him he couldn't kill the pimp. 

“How long will you be gone?” 

“Two weeks, plus travel time.” 

Victor's eyes widen. “So, I stay here and do nothing for two weeks?” 

Carmine watches him carefully. “You could go on a vacation yourself.” 

Another ripple of discomfort rolls off the man. “I prefer work.” 

Carmine begins to think he is going to have to lock Victor up again, but he fears he won't be able to let him back out, or worse, that he'll let himself out. 

“Have you ever considered picking up a hobby other than killing?” Carmine asks to buy himself time while he considers his next move. He doesn't expect an actual answer. 

Victor quirks an eyebrow. “Yeah, actually, there's something I've been wanting to try out for a while now.” 

Carmine pauses in his thoughts of how much it will cost to put the man down. 

“Really what might that be?” 

“I think I could be a pretty good pimp.” Victor nods, firm and confident. 

Carmine just stares, trying to wrap the idea around his head. It's certainly a case of a square peg and a round hole, but he's just mentally reviewed several, definitely, worse options. 

Carmine gives the man his blessings to see what he can accomplish under the conditions that Victor doesn't kill anyone, or take anything (or anyone for that matter) by force. 

Victor agrees wholeheartedly and Carmine is left to wonder how his choice to set the wolf free in Gotham will affect his empire.

* * *

His trip to Metropolis is pleasant and full of proud moments. When he returns the pimp of the rundown brothel is dead. 

No one claims to have witnessed the murder and yet no one doubts who the responsible party is. 

Victor comes in prompt as always when called and if anything seems to be in a better mood than before Carmine left. 

“What have you been up to Victor.” 

“I set up some safe houses, I cleaned all the guns, and I started training some new girls.” He smiles ticking the items off on his fingers. 

“Did you know someone killed that pimp you wanted to make an example of?” 

Victor's smile grows. “Yes, Don Falcone.” 

“Do you know who did it?” 

“Yes, Don Falcone.” 

“Was it you?” 

Victor pulls back as though Carmine tried to smack him. 

“You told me not to kill anyone while you were gone.” 

And now it is Carmine's turn to be confused. 

“Then who?” 

The smile pools back onto Victor's face. 

“My girls did it.”

* * *

Victor's girls terrify Carmine. 

It is not so much their presence that bother him. They are quiet, cordial and efficient. 

Like Victor. 

That is what scares him. Whatever methods the Court used to create Gotham's top assassin have been learned by the hitman in turn, and now he has used them to create a small militia. 

A pack. 

And with Carmine's blessing… 

He fears he'll have to execute the lot. 

He fears he won't be able to take down a single one. 

He fears Victor knows this. 

He fears Victor knows, that he knows. 

Victor certainly has been smiling a lot more. 

And so, he lets him go. The man always comes when he's called and unless Carmine calls him, no one dies. In a way Carmine thinks it's a small miracle, and as time passes, he finds, time and time again, he can trust and rely upon Victor Zsasz.

* * *

By the time Liza enters his life, Victor Zsasz has become such a fixture he doesn't bare a single thought of leaving the two alone together. After all, Victor has his own women and he's never seen a single one injured outside of a job. 

Liza hates him of course, even before she's heard some of the more gruesome stories about him. It forces Carmine to contemplate what he wants in life.

* * *

As he settles into the idea of relinquishing his hold on his empire, not least amongst his concerns is what will become of Victor Zsasz. The creature has been docile enough in Carmine’s keeping, but what will he do if that hold is released? He knows the man has little to no respect for the other heads of the families and he fears that with no one to hold his leash the man will become an uncompromising force within Gotham. 

Try as he might Carmine has lost track of how many girls answer to Zsasz. Some die, none stay in place, new ones turn up too often, and all answer when he calls. Carmine has few doubts they could disassemble both his and Maroni's holdings with ease. The GCPD is refuses to confront them. Who could oppose him?

* * *

“Hush young man, I can hear you sigh.” 

“Sorry, sir.” Victor stands before him looking as though the invisible chains that hold him to Carmine's bidding might drag him to the floor. 

Victor looks up sharply, as Carmine's little bird flits to his door. He’s several hours late, but his face is a torn-up mess, so perhaps there is a good reason for it. 

His wolf crosses over to the bird, teeth bared. One snap and the little bird would be no more. 

“Let him be.” Carmine commands. 

He comes to regret not letting Victor kill the snitch. He can never unhear what the snitch has said. Never unsee the truth now that it's lain bare.

* * *

Carmine’s dreams of a simple happy life drain out of him as her life ebbs in his hands. He's overly aware of Victor's smile as she draws her last breath. 

“I need to thank you, Fish. For the first time in a long time, I feel alive.” Carmine lies. 

He lies because he has to. He lies because he wants nothing more than for Victor to shoot him in the head and end it. Kill Fish, kill them all, but that would be too kind. Fish needs to be punished, the butcher needs work and Victor needs someone to hold his leash. 

At least one thing will be simple today, he already has a man to take over Fish's holdings. Giving her beloved club to her despicable, traitorous snitch will be just the beginning of her torment.

* * *

It's a month to the day that he decides it's time to finish cleaning house. 

Zsasz stands before him eager as ever. Less a wolf now more a dog pawing at the door. It's almost a shame, Carmine thinks. 

“The time has come my friend to put an end to this business with Ms. Mooney. We won't be looking for her anymore. I want the club burned and the snitch to meet his long overdue end.” 

Victor's brow furrows as he tilts his head a little further to the left. An odd tick Carmine has never been able to fully work out, but he’s caught the gist of it. Victor is confused or rather doesn't agree with something he's said. 

Carmine shakes his head. “Out with it young man. How many times must I tell you? If you have something to say, then say it.” 

“I still have Butch Gilzean, sir.” 

Carmine nods, he'd forgotten Victor had taken in Fish's lackey. “Yes, you'll have to get rid of him too.” 

“With all due respect, sir, why are we burning down the club?” 

Carmine's eyes narrow. Victor seldom speaks and when he does it's rarely to do with business ventures. 

“The club is losing money, Victor. You know that.” 

Victor nods solid in his stance. “I also know it was your most profitable establishment when Ms. Mooney ran it. The Penguin doesn't know how to run a club, but Butch Gilzean does. Let me give Gilzean to Penguin and you'll see, she'll come back around.” 

Carmine assesses the younger man’s words. Victor only ever speaks up about things he feels strongly towards. He cares nothing for Fish or her club. He was against Carmine using Cobblepot as a spy. This has to be an elaborate game to test his work on Gilzean. 

“No. I want this ended tonight.” 

“Please.” Victor grinds out, surprising the Don. “I think the Penguin could still be useful.” 

That draws Carmine's eye back over to his assassin. Victor has never asked to spare anyone other than his pets. It's made all the odder by whom the request is for. Oswald Cobblepot, a loathsome snitch. It's as interesting change, and Carmine can't see the harm in it. 

“Fine young man. Have it your way. Try your game, but if she doesn't make double the profits, I could have gained through the insurance by the end of the month, I expect you to finish the job and cover my loses. 

Victor grins and Falcone dismisses him.

* * *

When Penguin and that oaf, Gilzean, come for him, Victor is nowhere to be found, but it's clear to Carmine that the wolf has found a way to survive the Roman's retirement. 

The little snitch is far too confident, for that to not be the case, and if it weren't for Detective Gordon, he's certain there would have been no retirement at all. 

As he leaves the city he looks back and wonders, how long before Victor reverts back into the monster he found preying on his men. Only they won't be his men anymore, and he doubts anyone will be able to fetter the wolf a second time.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> This is part 2 in a planned 5 part series. 
> 
> I have parts 3 and 5 done, but I need help with part 4, so if anyone would like to help me come up with ideas for Zsasz's involvement with Edward and Oswald's big fall out I'd greatly appreciate it.
> 
> Also please comment with anything else you'd like to see Zsasz related. I don't do NSFW, but I'm open to ideas.


End file.
